United States Department of Agriculture

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2023: Ancient mainframes and dumb IT people. What IT problems the US Department of Agriculture faces

Outdated IT systems jeopardize the activities of the Ministry's National Financial Center (NFC). agriculture USA This is stated in the report of the National Academy of Public Administration, published in early August 2023.

It is noted that NFC provides the necessary services for the calculation of wages, personnel and pension provision of 650 thousand federal employees consisting of approximately 170 different structures and agencies. The center is responsible for services critical to the functioning of a significant part of government organizations. Despite natural disasters (such as Hurricane Katrina), the COVID-19 pandemic and macroeconomic challenges, NFC has never missed wage payments. However, like other government agencies, the center faced serious difficulties in modernizing its information infrastructure.

Failure to upgrade IT platforms and solve existing system problems poses a real threat

The authors of the study found many serious problems in the NFC IT landscape, including non-integrated information systems, a lack of technical knowledge among personnel, and the continued use of outdated mainframes. The inability to modernize IT platforms and solve existing system problems poses a real threat: the use of ancient equipment can provoke massive failures, which will result in huge monetary losses and the inability to serve a large number of customers.

Legacy NFC IT systems and inefficient manual processes degrade customer service, reduce efficiency, and demoralize the workforce. In addition, the likelihood of errors increases and the risk of failures or possible cyber incidents is created, the authors of the report say.

The study emphasizes that without prompt action to modernize the IT infrastructure, the future of NFC will be at risk. If the center runs into problems with its computer systems, the consequences will immediately be felt by hundreds of thousands of federal workers working for organizations like the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice.

NFC systems must operate reliably and safely, or the critical functions of the federal government will be at risk, said Terry Gerton, president and CEO of the National Academy of Public Administration.

The effectiveness of the organization was undermined by insufficient investment in personnel and technology

The document also concludes that achieving short- and long-term goals will require NFC to take immediate and consistent measures to improve customer experience, implement new information technology, and replace obsolete equipment. The recommendations include: improving management and developing a strategy for the future, attracting new personnel, a multi-stage process of modernizing IT systems and obtaining the necessary funding.

In addition to threats at the physical level, NFC faces other problems. For a long time, the center did not receive the proper attention and support necessary to successfully complete its tasks. The effectiveness of the organization was undermined by insufficient investment in personnel and technology. Financial support leaves much to be desired. Overall, the NFC's success depends on strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including other structures within the Department of Agriculture, the report said. Implementing the recommendations of the National Academy of Public Administration will ensure that NFC is able to provide effective and efficient services with a high level of security.^[1]

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